Tape carrier for TAB, integrated circuit device, a method of making the same, and an electronic device

ABSTRACT

A tape carrier for TAB includes a base material having an insulating property and an elongated shape. The base material has peripheral edges defining an opening for disposing an integrated circuit component. A first pair of portions of the peripheral edges face each other, and a second pair of portions of the peripheral edges face each other. A plurality of connection leads extend from the first pair of portions into the opening. A plurality of dummy leads extend from the second pair of portions into the opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tape carrier for TAB for mounting anintegrated circuit component, an integrated circuit device packaged withan integrated circuit component mounted therein, a method of making thesame, and an electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

Recent liquid crystal display devices use an integrated circuit devicehaving a driver integrated circuit component mounted thereon for thepurpose of connecting the LCD cell to its driver circuit. Such anintegrated circuit device generally adopts either the TAB method using aso-called TAB package (also known as a TCP (Tape Carrier Package)), orthe COG (Chip On Glass) method in which the driver integrated circuitcomponent is directly connected to the glass substrate. Particularly aTAB package has many advantages, being more compact and thinner thanother packages, and appropriate for high-density mounting, allowingelectrical testing on a tape carrier, and also permitting mounting in aflexed position; for these reasons it has been widely adopted not onlyfor liquid crystal display devices, but also for other electronicdevices.

A conventional TAB package, as shown in FIG. 14, has a tape carrier 131formed of polyimide or the like, in which is formed a device hole 133 ofdimensions larger than the dimensions of an integrated circuit component132 to be mounted thereon. Inner leads 134 projecting within the devicehole 133 are connected by way of bumps 135 to electrodes of theintegrated circuit component 132. Moreover, to prevent short-circuitsbetween inner leads 134 or contact of the inner leads 134 with theintegrated circuit component 132, and to improve reliability, aprotective resin 136 covers the inner leads 134 and the surface of theintegrated circuit component 132. The electrodes and bumps 135 arenormally disposed along the periphery of the integrated circuitcomponent 132, in order that the lengths of the inner leads 134 are asshort as possible in the one-sided holding state (that is, in the statewhere one side only of the inner leads 134 is supported by the tapecarrier 131). Additionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 63-95639, a construction is also known in which in orderto mount an integrated circuit component of large scale and having alarge number of electrodes, a lead support portion extending into thedevice hole is provided on the tape carrier, and some of the leadsextend thereover.

However, a conventional TAB package as described above has a gap betweenthe peripheral edges forming the device hole 133 and the peripheraledges of the integrated circuit component 132, and the protective resin136 is provided in order not to expose the inner leads 134 in this gap.As a result, the outer dimensions of the package are considerably largerthan the outer dimensions of the integrated circuit component 132 andthe mounting area is increased. Additionally, with the miniaturizationof the integrated circuit component 132, and a closer pitch for theelectrodes and inner leads 134, connecting leads 134a supported on thetape carrier 131 are required to be finer, and a large area is requiredto bring out the connecting leads 134a since the wiring distance isincreased. For this reason, the area of tape carrier used for mounting asingle integrated circuit component 132 is increased, the overallpackage dimensions are further increased, and the mounting area isincreased, resulting in a problem of going against the requirement tomake the electronic apparatus more compact.

In particular, in the case of a liquid crystal display, as shown in FIG.15, a plurality of TAB packages 138 (only one of which is shown in thefigure), each having a driver integrated circuit component 137 mountedthereon, is connected along the periphery of an LCD cell 139, andfurther on the outer side thereof is connected a printed circuit board140 forming a drive circuit. With respect to the overall dimensions ofthe liquid crystal display device, to increase the liquid crystaldisplay area, it is necessary to reduce the width W of the so-calledframe portion. For this purpose, it is necessary, while reducing each ofthe width w1 of the outer periphery 141 of the LCD cell 139 connected tothe TAB package 138 and the width w2 of the printed circuit board 140,to make the TAB package 138 smaller, and thus to reduce its width w3.For this purpose, it is possible first to consider making the driverintegrated circuit component 137 smaller, and reducing the correspondingwidth as much as possible, but in a TAB package of the above-describedconventional construction, it is difficult to go smaller than thecurrent size, and there is a problem that the width W of the frameportion cannot be adequately reduced. On the other hand, with the COGmethod, the connection leads are also formed at the periphery of the LCDcell 139 in addition to a driver integrated circuit component beingdirectly mounted, and it is therefore more difficult to reduce the widthW of the frame portion than in the TAB method.

Additionally, with the increasing compactness of electronic apparatusanother problem arises. For example, with the move to fine high outputpin counts, one of integrated circuit components, employed in a liquidcrystal display device or the like, has an elongated shape andelectrodes disposed in two rows along its long dimension with wireslead-out in two directions. Such an integrated circuit component andtape carrier are shown in FIG. 16. In this figure, an integrated circuitcomponent 142, and inner leads 144 formed on a tape carrier 143 areconnected by thermal bonding by a bonding tool (thermal bonding tool)not shown in the drawing. Here the tape carrier 143 has a largecoefficient of thermal expansion with respect to the integrated circuitcomponent 142. For this reason, when the two are subjected to thermalbonding, the tape carrier 143 is thermally bonded in the extended stateto the integrated circuit component 142. However, after the thermalbonding, since the tape carrier 143 shrinks with the fall intemperature, the tape carrier 143 pulls the inner leads 144, and thetape carrier 143 is deformed in an arc shape in the vicinity of theintegrated circuit component 142. Moreover, as the tape carrier 143pulls the inner leads 144, there is a possibility of breakage of theinner leads 144.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a tape carrier, integratedcircuit device, a method of making the same, and an electronic device,enabling miniaturization of electronic apparatus, solving the problemsoccurring with the miniaturization of electronic apparatus.

(1) The tape carrier of the invention for TAB comprises a base materialhaving an insulating property and an elongated shape. The base materialhas peripheral edges defining an opening for disposing an integratedcircuit component. A first pair of portions of the peripheral edges faceeach other. A second pair of portions of the peripheral edges face eachother. A plurality of connection leads extend from the first pair ofportions into the opening. At least one dummy lead extends from thesecond pair of portions into the opening.

According to the invention, after the integrated circuit component ismounted, the base material which has been heated tries to contract, butthe dummy lead provided projecting in the direction of contractionsupports the base material. As a result, breakage of the connectionleads by shrinkage of the base material can be prevented.

Here, the term "dummy lead" refers to any part which is not used fortransmitting or receiving signals or the like, and has no electricalfunction, and is not particularly concerned with whether or not there isa connection to an electrode of the integrated circuit component.

(2) Some dummy leads may extend from each of the second pair ofportions.

(3) The dummy lead may have a width narrower than a width of each of theconnection leads.

By this means, the dummy lead is made finer, but because of the dummylead, the force generated by the contraction of the base material can bewithstood. Besides, since the dummy lead is fine, when the sealingmaterial is injected after mounting the integrated circuit component,the sealing material is able to flow positively to the rear of the dummylead, and residual air bubbles can be prevented.

(4) The dummy lead may have a projection, which is formed in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to an extending direction of the dummy lead.

By this means, when the sealing material is injected after mounting theintegrated circuit component, surface tension is created in the intervalbetween the projection and the integrated circuit component, and anexcessive flow of the sealing material from the gap between theintegrated circuit component and the opening can be prevented. For thisreason the thickness of the sealing material can be made uniform.

(5) The dummy lead may be formed on one surface of the base material andhave a bending portion bent toward the other surface of the basematerial. The projection may extend from the bending portion of thedummy lead.

By this means, since the difference in height between the projection andthe integrated circuit component can be assured, an adequate surfacetension of the sealing material can be obtained using the difference inheight. Besides, since the bending portion produces a difference inheight, the projection can be formed to be longer, within a givendistance, compared with the case of a flat shape. For this reason, anexcessive flow of the sealing material into the opening can beprevented, and the thickness of the sealing material can be madeuniform.

(6) The width of the dummy lead may be wider than a width of eachconnection lead.

By this means, even when the peripheral edges around the opening intowhich the plurality of connection leads extend are cooled and theopening seeks to expand, this force can be withstood without dummy leadbreaking.

(7) The connection leads may extend along a longitudinal direction ofthe base material, and the dummy lead may extend in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to an extending direction of the connectionleads.

By this means, the connection leads can be brought out in thelongitudinal direction of the base material without bending, and thearea of the base material can be used effectively.

(8) The integrated circuit device of the invention comprises a basematerial having an insulating property and having an opening. Aplurality of connection leads are provided on the base material. Theconnection leads extend into the opening. An integrated circuitcomponent is connected to the connection leads inside the opening. Theintegrated circuit component includes a first portion and a secondportion. The first portion is positioned inside of the opening andprovided with a plurality of electrodes electrically connected to theconnection leads. The second portion faces a portion of the basematerial. At least one of the connection leads is provided on theportion of the base material to which the second portion faces.

By this means, since the first portion of the integrated circuitcomponent to be positioned in the opening is smaller than the opening, agap is formed between the peripheral edges of the opening and the firstportion. As a result, in the first portion exposed through the opening,flowability of the sealing material on the integrated circuit componentis assured, and in the gap between the peripheral edges of the openingand the first portion, the sealing material flows onto the oppositesurface. In addition to this advantage, since the connection leads canbe provided in the area where the second portion of the integratedcircuit component and the base material oppose each other, the externaldimensions of the integrated circuit device can be made smaller than inthe conventional case.

(9) The pitch between a pair of the connection leads is converted in theportion to which the second portion of the integrated circuit componentfaces.

By this means, pitch conversion of the connection leads can be carriedout in the area in which the projections of the integrated circuitcomponent and the base material overlap, and therefore the externaldimensions of the integrated circuit device can be made smaller than inthe conventional case.

(10) The outline of the opening may be smaller than the outline of theintegrated circuit component.

By this means, the area in which the integrated circuit component facesthe base material is increased, whereby this area can be used as aconnection lead pitch conversion region, or can be used as a region forbringing out the connection leads, and the freedom of design of theconnection leads is increased. Besides, since connection leads can beformed in the area of the base material facing the integrated circuitcomponent around the periphery of the opening, the external dimensionsof the overall base material can be made smaller than in theconventional case.

(11) The integrated circuit component may have an oblong shape. Thefirst portion may have an edge portion forming one of the long sides ofthe oblong shape. The electrodes of the integrated circuit component maybe disposed in one row along the long side.

By this means, the connection leads may be disposed in the directionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the integrated circuitcomponent, and the connection leads can be made shorter.

(12) The integrated circuit component may have an oblong shape. Thefirst portion may have an edge portion forming one of the long sides ofthe oblong shape. The electrodes of the integrated circuit component maybe disposed in two rows along the one of the long sides.

By this means, while reducing the dimensions of the base material, theelectrodes of the integrated circuit component can be disposed inaccordance with the number of electrodes, the conditions of connectionwith the exterior device and circuits, and so forth.

(13) The integrated circuit device of the invention may further comprisea sealing material sealing at least connection portions between theelectrodes of the integrated circuit component and the connection leads.At least one dummy lead may extend into the opening. The opening may beformed by peripheral edges. The dummy lead may extend from at least oneof a pair of the peripheral edges facing each other. The connectionleads may extend into the opening from the other pair of the peripheraledges facing each other.

By this means, after the integrated circuit component is mounted, theheated base material shrinks in the direction of the electrodedisposition of the integrated circuit component, and the opening seeksto expand, but the dummy lead extending in this shrinking directionsupports the base material. As a result, breakage of the connectionleads can be prevented.

(14) The dummy lead may have a width narrower than a width of eachconnection lead.

By this means, the dummy lead is made finer, but because of the dummylead, the force generated by the contraction of the base material can bewithstood. Besides, since the dummy lead is fine, when the sealingmaterial is injected after mounting the integrated circuit component,the sealing material is able to flow positively to the rear of the dummylead, and residual air bubbles can be prevented.

(15) The dummy lead may have a projection. The projection may be formedin a direction substantially perpendicular to an extending direction ofthe dummy lead.

By this means, when the sealing material is injected after mounting theintegrated circuit component, surface tension is created in the intervalbetween the projection and the integrated circuit component, and anexcessive flow of the sealing material from the gap between theintegrated circuit component and the opening can be prevented. For thisreason the thickness of the sealing material can be made uniform.

(16) The dummy lead may have a bending portion. The projection mayextend from the bending portion of the dummy lead.

By this means, since the difference in height between the projection andthe integrated circuit component can be assured, an adequate surfacetension of the sealing material can be obtained using the difference inheight. For this reason, an excessive flow of the sealing material fromthe gap between the peripheral edges of the opening and the integratedcircuit component can be prevented, and the thickness of the sealingmaterial can be made uniform.

(17) The width of the dummy lead may be wider than a width of eachconnection lead.

By this means, even when the peripheral edges around the opening intowhich the plurality of connection leads extend is cooled, and theopening seeks to expand, this force can be withstood without dummy leadsbreaking.

(18) The dummy lead may be electrically insulated from the electrodes ofthe integrated circuit component.

By this means, no consideration of the various conditions relating toconduction in the connection of the dummy lead and the integratedcircuit component is required, and the form can be made appropriate tothe improvement of the bonding strength.

(19) More than half of the connection leads may be formed on the portionof the base material to which the second portion of the integratedcircuit component faces.

By this means, since the majority of the connection leads can be formedon the area facing the integrated circuit component, the externaldimensions of the integrated circuit device can be made smaller than inthe conventional case.

(20) The first group of connection leads may be formed on the portion ofthe base material to which the second portion of the integrated circuitcomponent faces. The second group of connection leads may be formedavoiding the portion of the base material to which the second portion ofthe integrated circuit component faces. The first group of connectionleads are connected to output sides of the electrodes of the integratedcircuit component. The second group of connection leads are connected toinput sides of the electrodes of the integrated circuit component.

By this means, the invention can be applied to an integrated circuitcomponent in which the number of output terminals is very much greaterthan the number of input terminals, such as an integrated circuitcomponent used for driving a liquid crystal display device, for example.

(21) The integrated circuit device of the invention comprises a tapecarrier for TAB having a base material, a plurality of connection leadsand at least one dummy lead. The base material has an insulatingproperty and has peripheral edges forming a rectangular opening. Theconnection leads extend into the opening from a pair of the peripheraledges facing each other. The dummy lead extends into the opening fromone of the other pair of the peripheral edges facing each other. Anintegrated circuit component is positioned inside of the opening,electrically connected to the connection leads, and connected to thedummy leads.

According to the invention, after the integrated circuit component ismounted, the heated base material seeks to contract, but the dummy leadextending in this contracting direction supports the base material. As aresult, breakage of the connection leads due to shrinkage of the basematerial can be prevented.

(22) The electronic apparatus of the invention comprises the integratedcircuit device, which is mentioned above.

(23) The method of making an integrated circuit device of the inventioncomprises:

preparing for a base material having an insulating property, having anopening, and having a plurality of connection leads on one surfacethereof, the connection leads extending into the opening;

positioning an integrated circuit component in a state where a part ofthe integrated circuit is positioned inside of the opening, and theremainder faces another surface of the base material with a gaptherebetween;

electrically connecting the connection leads to the integrated circuitcomponent through the opening; and

supplying a sealing material to the integrated circuit component throughthe opening with the integrated circuit component heated.

By this means, since the integrated circuit component is heated when thesealing material is injected, the viscosity of the sealing material isreduced, and therefore the sealing material is able to enter the gapbetween the base material and the integrated circuit component. Afterinjection of the sealing material is completed, when heating of theintegrated circuit component is stopped, the viscosity of the sealingmaterial rises. As a result, the sealing material can be retainedbetween the base material and the integrated circuit component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described in detail with reference to the followingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing part of the tape carrier of an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the TAB packageintegrated circuit device of the invention using the tape carrier shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a variant of the embodiment of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a part of an LCD cell having mountedthe TAB package of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5A is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the TAB packageintegrated circuit device of the invention, and FIG. 5B is a plan viewof the same;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a variant of the integrated circuitcomponent used in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial view of a third embodiment of the tapecarrier of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a variant of the third embodiment of the tape carrier;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial view of the connections of inner leads anddummy leads to an integrated circuit component disposed within a devicehole;

FIG. 10 shows a variant of the embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view of a fourth embodiment of the tapecarrier;

FIG. 12 shows the arrangement of an integrated circuit device having theintegrated circuit component mounted on the tape carrier;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are explanatory views of the procedure of mounting theintegrated circuit component on the tape carrier;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a conventional TAB packageintegrated circuit device;

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a portion of a conventional LCD cellhaving mounted the TAB package of FIG. 14; and

FIG. 16 shows the arrangement of a conventional integrated circuitcomponent and tape carrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows part of an embodiment of the tape carrier of the invention.As base material, the tape carrier 1 is made of a continuous plasticfilm tape which is flexible and insulating, and of a polyimide resin,polyester, glass epoxy resin, or the like. In approximately the centerthereof is formed a device hole 3 which is an opening corresponding tothe integrated circuit component 2 to be mounted. On one surface 4 ofthe tape carrier 1 are formed a plurality of connection leads 5 of ametal such as copper film. In order to connect the connection leads 5 tobumps 8 provided on the corresponding electrodes of the integratedcircuit component 2, inner leads 6 forming portions of the connectionleads 5 are disposed so as to project inward from the periphery of thedevice hole 3. The integrated circuit component 2 of this embodiment isan integrated circuit component for driving an LCD cell of a liquidcrystal display device, and in order to reduce the size of the frameportion of the liquid crystal display device when mounted, is of anelongated shape.

The device hole 3 is formed in an elongated shape in the directionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tape carrier 1, andis an rectangle smaller than the surface area of the integrated circuitcomponent 2. Within the device hole 3, one of long sides of the outlineof the integrated circuit component 2 is positioned. Preferably, at thelong side opposite the above-mentioned long side of the integratedcircuit component 2 there is an overlap of a certain width between thetape carrier 1 and the integrated circuit component 2.

Since as described above the integrated circuit component 2 is an LCDcell driver integrated circuit component, the inner leads 6 extend fromthe opposing long sides of the peripheral edges of the device hole 3,perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tape carrier 1, toclose to the center of the device hole 3 where the bumps 8 of theintegrated circuit component 2 are to be aligned.

According to this embodiment, the outline of the device hole 3 is madesmaller than the outline of the integrated circuit component 2, andwithin the device hole 3 is disposed one long edge of the integratedcircuit component 2. As a result, the gap between the device hole andintegrated circuit component in the conventional construction, that isto say, the dead space, is eliminated, and connection leads 5 can beprovided on an area where the tape carrier 1 and integrated circuitcomponent 2 overlap, so that the area of the tape carrier 1 used for asingle integrated circuit component 2 is reduced. In particular, in thisembodiment, when used for an integrated circuit component for driving anLCD cell of a liquid crystal display device, the difference between thenumber of input terminals and the number of output terminals isextremely large (for example, 30 input terminals as against 300 outputterminals), and it is therefore possible in the overlapping area toprovide an area for bringing out the connection leads 5 for adjustingthe spacings between the terminals of the integrated circuit component 2and the liquid crystal display device. Besides, since the shape of thedevice hole 3 is significantly smaller in the longitudinal direction ofthe tape carrier 1, the number of the integrated circuit components 2which can be held on a tape reel at a given length is greatly increasedfrom the conventional case. By this means, since the tape reel formaking the TAB packages has to be replaced less often, the ease ofworking and production are improved, and it is possible to reduce themaking cost. Besides, the dimensions of an integrated circuit devicefabricated from this tape carrier 1 are greatly reduced, and themounting area can be reduced.

The edges of the device hole 3 along the longitudinal direction of thetape carrier 1, that is to say, the positions of the short edges of thedevice hole 3, may be positioned outside of the integrated circuitcomponent 2, or may be positioned within the area of the integratedcircuit component 2. If the short edges of the device hole 3 arepositioned outside of the integrated circuit component 2, then the areafor the formation of the inner leads 6 is increased, and it is possibleto increase the number of inner leads 6, or to increase the pitch of theinner leads 6. On the other hand, if the short edges of the device hole3 are positioned within the area of the integrated circuit component 2,a larger area can be provided for bringing out the connection leads 5.

In FIG. 2, is shown a TAB package integrated circuit device using thetape carrier shown in FIG. 1. In this integrated circuit device 7 theintegrated circuit component 2 is a driver integrated circuit componentfor an LCD cell in the shape of an elongated rectangle, and has aplurality of bumps 8 disposed in a straight line along the longdimension of this rectangle. The device hole 3 is formed approximatelyin the center of the tape carrier 1, and has the bumps 8 positioned inits center. One side of the device hole 3 is positioned on the inside ofthe periphery of the integrated circuit component 2.

The packaging is carried out in the conventional manner: the tapecarrier 1 in FIG. 1 is positioned with respect to the integrated circuitcomponent 2 as described above, a bonding tool is used to thermally bondeach inner lead 6 to the bump 8 of the corresponding electrode, and aprotective resin 9 is applied to a certain position, including theintegrated circuit component 2 and the inner leads 6, after which anelectrical characteristics test is carried out, and finally a punchingstage is carried out, along the separation position 10 in FIG. 1.

The protective resin 9 is a thermosetting resin of for example the epoxytype, and is formed to project slightly outside the outer periphery ofthe integrated circuit component 2, and is conveniently provided so thatthe length L of the projecting portion is not more than the gap 1between the integrated circuit component 2 and the tape carrier 1(0<L≦1). By the provision of this projecting portion, it can easily beascertained by external inspection whether all of the portions requiredto be covered by the protective resin 9 are completely covered.

According to this embodiment, as described in relation to FIG. 1, theform of the device hole 3 is smaller than the outline of the integratedcircuit component 2, and one side of the device hole 3 is positionedinside the outer periphery of the integrated circuit component 2. Bymeans of this, the portion of the protective resin which in theconventional construction was formed outside of the integrated circuitcomponent is substantially eliminated, and moreover the area of the tapecarrier 1 used is reduced, so that the external dimensions of theintegrated circuit device 7 are much smaller than the prior art, and themounting area can be reduced. In particular with this embodiment, sincethe inner leads 6 are led out in the direction perpendicular to the longdimension of the integrated circuit component 2, the width of theintegrated circuit device 7 can be made extremely smaller compared withthe prior art.

In FIG. 3 is shown an integrated circuit device 11 which is a variant ofthe embodiment of FIG. 2. Whereas the integrated circuit device 7 ofFIG. 2 has the integrated circuit component 2 connected face-down to thetape carrier 1, in this variant the integrated circuit component 2 isconnected face-up with respect to the surface 4 of the tape carrier 1 onwhich the connection leads 5 are formed. In this case again, the outerdimensions of the TAB package 11 can be reduced.

The integrated circuit device 7 of the invention is mounted on an LCDcell of a liquid crystal display device as shown in FIG. 4. Theintegrated circuit device 7 has, as in the conventional case, outerleads 12 on the output side connected to panel electrodes 15 formed froman ITO film or the like of an LCD cell 14 by using for example ananisotropically conducting adhesive 13 or an optically hardenedinsulating resin. On the other hand, outer leads 16 on the input sideare connected by soldering or the like to corresponding electrodes 18 ona printed circuit board 17 formed from an ordinary glass epoxy substrateand constituting a liquid crystal driver circuit. According to thisembodiment, by connecting the integrated circuit device 7 which is madecompact, and in particular has a small width, the width of the frameportion can be made substantially smaller.

Besides, according to this embodiment, according to the shape ordimensions of the integrated circuit component 2 to be mounted on thetape carrier 1, or according to the number of electrodes, or theconditions under which the connection to an external device or circuitboard is to be carried out, the bumps 8 may be disposed in a pluralityof rows.

An integrated circuit device 19 according to a second embodiment of theinvention is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and has the electrodes of anintegrated circuit component 20, each half of them disposed in each oftwo rows in the longitudinal direction, and bumps 21a and 21b formed oneach electrode. A tape carrier 22 has a device hole 23 formedapproximately in the center, in a shape smaller than the outline of theintegrated circuit component 20, and mutually opposing inner leads 24aand 24b are formed projecting from opposing edges positioned in thelongitudinal direction of the device hole 23, toward the bumps 21a and21b. Making the spacing between the rows of bumps 21a and 21b as narrowas possible, and reducing the dimensions of the device hole 23 ispreferable in order to make the integrated circuit device 19 even morecompact. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, only one of the four sidesforming the boundary of the integrated circuit component 20 ispositioned within the device hole 23.

The number of electrodes for which the bumps 21a are formed and thenumber of electrodes for which the bumps 21b are formed are notnecessarily the same. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, anintegrated circuit component 25 is a driver integrated circuit componentfor a liquid crystal display device, and of the two rows, in one aredisposed input electrodes and associated bumps 26a, and in the other aredisposed output electrodes and associated bumps 26b. The bumps 26b onthe output side are provided at a uniform pitch, whereas the bumps 26aon the input side are divided into three groups 26a-1, 26a-2, and 26a-3.The groups are separated by spacings considerably larger than theelectrode pitch, and the wiring is led out with realignment from theelectrode pitch for each group. As a result, compared to the case inwhich there is no division into groups, with the pitch realignmentdistance 1a, the wiring length can be considerably shortened.

In particular, the number of input electrodes of a driver integratedcircuit component for a liquid crystal display device is considerablyless than the number of output electrodes. In this case, according tothis embodiment, without making the electrode pitch unreasonably small,an adequate spacing can be assured between the groups, and the inputwiring distance can easily be reduced.

Alternatively, the electrodes and bumps on the input side may both bedisposed at the same uniform pitch, and the row of electrodes and bumpson the output side may be separated into a plurality of groups separatedby a spacing considerably greater than the electrode pitch. Besides, therows of electrodes and bumps on the input and output sides can each besimilarly divided into a plurality of groups, and the wiring distancecan be reduced on both the input and output sides.

Alternatively, some of the output electrodes may be disposed in the rowon the input side, so that the number of electrodes in each row isapproximately equal, so that the electrode pitch is not excessivelysmall in one row. In this case, if the row on the input side is dividedinto groups as described above, if the output electrodes are put intogroups outside of the input electrodes, then on the tape carrier wiringcan be led along the periphery of the device hole, from the inner leadson the input side to the outer leads on the output side.

Besides, in FIG. 7 is shown an enlarged partial view of a thirdembodiment of the tape carrier of the invention. As shown in thisfigure, the tape carrier 28 of this third embodiment is provided with adevice hole 30 of rectangular shape elongated in the directionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tape carrier 28, andin this device hole 30 from borders 30L and 30R in the directionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tape carrier 28 areprovided inner leads 32 extending into the device hole 30. Also in thedevice hole 30 from each of borders 30U and 30D perpendicular to theborders 30L and 30R are provided each of dummy leads 34 extending in thedirection perpendicular to the inner leads 32, to pass between the endsof opposing inner leads 32.

On this tape carrier 28 is mounted an integrated circuit component 36provided with electrodes disposed in two rows along the longitudinaldirection, and also electrodes for connection to the dummy leads 34 atboth longitudinal ends.

Here the procedure for mounting the integrated circuit component 36 onthe tape carrier 28 provided with the inner leads 32 and the dummy leads34 is described. First the integrated circuit component 36 held in avacuum suction jig not shown in the drawings is moved to a positionwhere electrodes contact the inner leads 32 and dummy leads 34.Thereafter, toward the side opposite to the vacuum suction jig, that isto say, toward the side of the integrated circuit component 36 whereelectrodes are provided, a bonding tool (thermal jig) approaches, andthermally bonds the inner leads 32 and dummy leads 34 to the electrodes.Here, since the coefficient of thermal expansion of the tape carrier 28is larger than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the integratedcircuit component 36, the tape carrier 28 stretches, and the two areconnected in the state that the pitch spacing of the inner leads 32 iswider than the pitch spacing of the electrodes. After this connection,since the bonding tool (thermal jig) is removed from the integratedcircuit component 36 and tape carrier 28, the temperature of theconnected positions falls, and the tape carrier 28 begins to shrinkalong the direction of the electrode alignment. However, in thedirection of the electrode alignment, the pair of dummy leads 34 isprovided at top and bottom as shown in the figure, as a result of whichthe contracting force of the tape carrier 28 is withstood. For thisreason, the shrinkage of the tape carrier 28 is restricted, and breakageof inner leads 32 due to shrinkage of the tape carrier 28 can beprevented.

FIG. 8 shows an example of application of the third embodiment of thetape carrier. In this figure, from each of the borders 30U and 30Dextend a plurality (two) of dummy leads 34a of width narrower than thedummy leads 34, but the rest of the construction is the same as that ofFIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 8, by the provision of a plurality of finerdummy leads 34a, after the integrated circuit component 36 is mounted onthe tape carrier 28, when a sealing material is applied around theperiphery of the integrated circuit component 36, air can easily escapefrom the gap between the dummy leads 34a. For this reason, residual airbubbles on the rear surface of the dummy leads 34a can be prevented.Besides, since the dummy leads 34a are narrow, when heated by thebonding tool (thermal jig), excessive heat dissipation is reduced, andthe quality of bonding of inner leads 32 around the dummy leads 34a canbe improved.

Besides, in FIG. 9, is shown an enlarged partial view of the connectionsof inner leads and dummy leads to an integrated circuit componentdisposed within a device hole, and in FIG. 10 is shown a variantthereof. As shown in these figures, even with the integrated circuitcomponent 36 positioned in the interior of the device hole 30, in thesame way as in the third embodiment described above, contraction of thetape carrier 28 can be withstood by the dummy leads 34, and as a resultbreaking the inner leads 32 wires through tension toward the borders 30Land 30R can be prevented.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view of a fourth embodiment of the tapecarrier. In this figure, a tape carrier 40 has the dummy leads 34 of thethird embodiment of the tape carrier shown in FIG. 7 with projections 38formed projecting from one side. Then FIG. 12 shows the arrangement ofan integrated circuit device having the integrated circuit component 36mounted on the tape carrier 40. As shown in these figures, theprojections 38 are provided on forming portions 42 of the dummy leads34. The forming portions 42 bend down in such a way as to overcome thenon-coplanarity of the surface of the tape carrier 40 where dummy leads34 are provided and the surface of the integrated circuit component 36where the electrodes are provided. The projections 38 on the formingportions 42 project in the direction to a gap 44 formed between theborder 30L of the device hole 30 and the integrated circuit component 36(toward the input side of the integrated circuit component 36). By thusforming the projections 38 on the forming portions 42 of the dummy leads34, a sealing material 46 is prevented from passing via the gap 44 tothe rear surface of the tape carrier 40 and fluctuation of the thickness(thinning) of the sealing material 46 on the integrated circuitcomponent 36 can be prevented. It should be noted that the sealingmaterial 46 is applied to the periphery of the integrated circuitcomponent 36 after connecting the integrated circuit component 36 to theinner leads 32 and dummy leads 34.

In more detail, since the gap between portions of the tape carrier 40and the integrated circuit component 36 facing each other (on the outputside of the integrated circuit component 36), no large quantity of thesealing material 46 passes along the path shown by an arrow 48 to therear surface of the tape carrier 40. On the other hand, from the gap 44in the device hole 30, because of the area of its opening, a largequantity of sealing material can pass along the path shown by an arrow50 to the rear surface of the tape carrier 40. However, by forming theprojections, on the dummy leads 34, corresponding to the width of thedummy leads 34, surface tension of the sealing material 46 is produced,and the amount of the sealing material 46 passing through the gap 44 tothe rear surface of the tape carrier 40 can be reduced. In this way thethickness of the applied sealing material 46 can be maintained constant.It should be noted that the dummy leads 34 shown in FIGS. 7 to 12 arenot electrically connected to the integrated circuit component 36. Forthis reason, for the connection of the dummy leads 34 to the integratedcircuit component 36, it is not necessary to consider conditionsrelating to electrical conductivity, and any form only to improve thebonding strength can be applied.

Besides, FIG. 13 illustrates the procedure of mounting the integratedcircuit component on the tape carrier. As shown in this figure, afterconnecting inner leads 56 and electrodes having bumps 58 formed, asealing material 46 is applied, and exposure of the inner leads 56 andelectrodes is prevented. Here, in order to improve the degree to whichthe sealing material 46 penetrates the gap 62 between the tape carrier54 and the integrated circuit component 52 a heater 66 being a heatingmeans may be provided to the vacuum suction jig 64 holding and movingthe integrated circuit component 52 to the mounting position. In otherwords, if the heater 66 is provided within the vacuum suction jig 64,while the vacuum suction jig 64 is holding the integrated circuitcomponent 52, heat is applied by the heater 66 to the integrated circuitcomponent 52. Thus by this heating effect, the sealing material 46supplied by a sealing material supply pipe 68 has its viscosity reduced,and thus more positively fills the gap 62. After the process of applyingthe sealing material 46 is completed, the vacuum suction jig 64 may beremoved from the integrated circuit component 52. When the vacuumsuction jig 64 is removed from the integrated circuit component 52, theintegrated circuit component 52 cools, and the viscosity of the sealingmaterial 46 filling the gap 62 increases, whereby the sealing material46 can be positively contained between the tape carrier 54 and theintegrated circuit component 52. Besides, the above described sealingmaterial 46 may be a thermoplastic resin, or a thermosetting resin, orthe like, being a resin deformed by heat.

The invention has been described above using a number of preferredembodiments, but these embodiments do not limit the scope of theinvention and the invention can be carried out with various variationsand modifications.

I claim:
 1. An integrated circuit device, comprising:a base materialhaving an insulating property and having an opening; a plurality ofconnection leads provided on said base material, said connection leadsextending into said opening; and an integrated circuit componentconnected to said connection leads inside said opening, said integratedcircuit component including a first portion at its one end portion and asecond portion at its other end portion, an edge of said first portionbeing positioned inside of said opening, said first portion inside ofsaid opening provided with a plurality of electrodes electricallyconnected to said connection leads, said second portion and said basematerial overlapping, at least one of said connection leads provided ona portion of said base material which said second portion faces.
 2. Theintegrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein a pitch between a pair ofsaid connection leads is converted on said portion of said base materialto which said second portion of said integrated circuit component faces.3. The integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said opening issmaller than said integrated circuit component.
 4. The integratedcircuit device of claim 1, wherein said integrated circuit component hasan oblong shape, said first portion has an edge portion forming one oflong sides of said oblong shape, and said electrodes of said integratedcircuit component are disposed in one row along said one of long sides.5. The integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said integratedcircuit component has an oblong shape, said first portion has an edgeportion forming one of long sides of said oblong shape, and saidelectrodes of said integrated circuit component are disposed in two rowsalong said one of long sides.
 6. The integrated circuit device of claim1, further comprising:a sealing material sealing at least connectionportions between said electrodes of said integrated circuit componentand said connection leads.
 7. The integrated circuit device of claim 6,wherein said dummy lead has a width narrower than a width of each ofsaid connection leads.
 8. The integrated circuit device of claim 6,wherein said dummy lead has at least one projection, said projectionformed in a direction substantially perpendicular to an extendingdirection of said dummy lead.
 9. The integrated circuit device of claim8, wherein said dummy lead has a bending portion, and said projectionextends from said bending portion of said dummy leads.
 10. Theintegrated circuit device of claim 6, wherein a width of said dummy leadis wider than a width of each of said connection leads.
 11. Theintegrated circuit device of claim 6, wherein said dummy lead iselectrically insulated from said electrodes of said integrated circuitcomponent.
 12. The integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein morethan half of said connection leads are formed on said portion of saidbase material to which said second portion of said integrated circuitcomponent faces.
 13. The integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein:afirst group of said connection leads are formed on said portion of saidbase material to which said second portion of said integrated circuitcomponent faces; a second group of said connection leads are formedavoiding said portion of said base material to which said second portionof said integrated circuit component faces; said first group ofconnection leads are connected to output sides of said electrodes ofsaid integrated circuit component; and said second group of connectionleads are connected to input sides of said electrodes of said integratedcircuit component.
 14. An electronic apparatus comprising saidintegrated circuit device of claim 1.